


Trials of A Witch

by TitaniSword



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25056388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitaniSword/pseuds/TitaniSword
Summary: Margaret Dursley thought that it was only Harry, who was the wizard in the family. After all it was his parents who were wizards and her family was normal. She should be normal too. Unfortunately, a week after her birthday Elizabeth Ashwood tells her the ugly truth that her family hid from her. She choose to give Hogwarts a chance and in the mean time she made friends, learned things never thought possible and has adventures she only reads in her books.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

As far as everyone in Little Whinging was aware, the Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive was perfectly normal, thank you very much.  
Petunia Dursley was a happy housewife , raising her two children and her nephew. Meanwhile, her husband, Vernon Dursley was a successful director to a drill company, which he was very proud of.

According to his parents you wouldn’t find a more perfect boy than their son. Their neighbours however, would disagree. And while the siblings were clearly related, they couldn’t be more different both in looks and personalities. The one thing they’ve got in common was their blond locks that they inherited from their parents but that's where the similarities ended. 

Even at a young age, Dudley always looked like he would take after his father. Petunia never failed to admire her beautiful son, though Margaret heard many of the school boys whisper that her brother looked more like a pink beach ball without a neck. The girl kept quiet about the whispers, too afraid of what her parents and even Dudley himself might do.

Of course, Petunia didn’t neglect her daughter. She complimented her daughter as much as her son and she never failed to buy her dresses that would bring Margarets own beauty to light. It was true that she was short enough that even her cousin towered over her, but she was very slim in her figure just like her mother. Margaret Dursley took as much after her own mother as Dudley took after their father. 

And from the outside the Dursleys looked like the perfect little family. However, the Dursleys had a dark secret that they were scared it would, one day come out and their normalcy would be destroyed. Petunia and Vernon Dursley were so scared of the secret that they wouldn’t tell even their own children about it. 

Unfortunately, the secret came to light on Harry Potter's eleventh birthday. One that it was hard to believe if not for the provided proof. After all, how could the giant man destroy the door, light a fire out of nowhere and give Dudley Dursley a pig tail if not with magic?

It was both fantastic and terrifying for the small Margaret Dursley. She was taught by her parents that every strange thing must have a logical explanation.

And seeing all those things happen at once, it did explain a lot of the strange things that happened around her cousin. 

Like, the way Harry’s hair grew back the next day after a particularly ugly cut her mother gave him or the way he ended up on the roof of the school after Dudley's friends were chasing after him and most recently, the way the glass disappeared at the zoo on Dudley's birthday.

But strange things happened to Margaret too and Harry was never around her at the time. Like that time when she had a gigantic spider in the corner of her room and when she came back with Harry, so that he could take it outside, the spider was replaced by a teddy bear that she could have sworn it wasn’t there before.Harry brushed it off as a prank.  
Or that time at her aunt's home one summer when she went to play with her dogs and one little puppy went too far in the street. A fast car was approaching and panicked Margaret yelled for the puppy to stop. The puppy froze for all but 4 seconds until the car wasn't in sight anymore. Unfortunately, since the puppy was weak her aunt decided he wasn't worth the trouble and sent him to a farm.

The most recent one was when Harry was already at Hogwarts and Margaret was reading her favourite book ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for the tenth time but for her it was still as wonderful as if she’d read for the first time. Unexpectedly, a ball came flying at her and she managed to catch it but after that all she could feel were her burning fingers. By the time Piers Polkis brought her to the nurse office, she didn’t feel anything and everything looked fine. Even the nurse admitted that there was nothing wrong with her hand.

But all of this surely didn't mean that she was a witch, right?  
Margaret exhaled the air that she was keeping in to try and calm herself down. She couldn't be a Witch. Her parents weren't wizards and her brother wasn't either, so why would she be a witch? Her mother always said that she had a rich imagination, she could have been seeing things. Yeah, that was a logical explanation, she was seeing things. 

Margaret shook her head furiously as if it would help her not to think about it anymore. It never did. Trying to ignore her own thoughts, Margaret entered the kitchen where she found most of her family. 

It was early in the morning so her mother was preparing breakfast. Eggs and toast and bacon, Dudley's favourite. Her father was at the table behind his newspaper, probably eating his second portion of breakfast. Soon, he would finish, put the paper down and leave for work after he kissed his wife and daughter goodbye.

Her brother wasn't paying attention to anyone too captivated by the show he was watching from the tv in the living room and trying to eat his eggs at the same time.

Despite the normal morning in the Dursley household, Margaret could still feel the thick tension in the air. Her father was still mad that her cousin managed to get away with his friends and he had angry outbursts the whole summer after her cousin left making both Margaret and her mother flinch with each yell. His worst outburst so far was a few days ago on her eleventh birthday to be exact, yelling and throwing punches at the wall and swearing that it won't happen. Margaret had no idea what he was talking about since he sent her in her room, without dinner that day and she was still confused, what exactly happened. Her brother teased her and tried to blackmail the answer but Margaret wouldn't fall for that.

"Good morning," Margaret greeted her family. Her father and brother didn't react with more than a grunt but her mother's face morphed into a happy one as she put the spatula down and approached her. "Good morning, my flower."

Margaret smiled, happy that at least some things stayed normal.  
Things were looking good and for a while it was as if nothing changed, eating breakfast as a family like normal. She could ignore the fact that her cousin wasn't here like every morning serving them but ever since he returned from his school Margaret tried to interact with her cousin as little as possible anyway. She wasn't scared to admit to herself that she was scared of him, of what he could do with his magic. All of her family was scared.

Her thoughts about her cousin were soon ignored once she saw her favourite breakfast in front of her. Buttered toast with omelette and tomatoes. She thanked her mother once again and prepared herself to dig in. 

Her appetite was lost however, when her father put the paper down kissed her mother and left without even acknowledging her. She attempted to wipe her tears away without anyone seeing it but by the smirk on Dudleys face, she wasn't successful. 

Margaret had no idea what she had done for her father to hate her so much. He treated her even worse than Harry, at least he never pretended Harry didn't exist. Something happened between the weeks Harry left and her father's outburst and she wanted to know what exactly. It was after all only after that when he began to ignore her.

She glared at her brother when she saw that the smirk on his face still hadn't disappeared. Still smirking,for no other reason than annoying her, her brother pinched her elbow. Hard enough to make her hiss in pain so she retaliated and kicked him under the table. "Mom! Meg kicked me!"  
"Tattle tale," she whispered to her brother.  
"Cry baby," retorted her brother.  
"Beach ball."  
"Mommy!  
"Margaret!"  
"He started it!"  
"Liar! She's lying, mommy!"  
"That's not true!"  
"Liar, liar pants on fire."  
"Says you."

"Margaret, enough!"  
The girl flinched. She wasn't used to her mother yelling and certainly wasn't used to her mother's harsh slap on the breakfast table. It almost looked like she stopped herself from slapping her instead of the table and it scared her. Her mother was never one to raise her hand at her children.  
"Now," said her mother in a much more calming voice. "Margaret, apologize to your brother."  
"But, he started- "  
"Now, Margaret!"  
Margaret frowned. Ever since that day her parents favouritism was obvious and it took Margaret a lot to keep herself from crying. Especially when her mother was glaring at her in the way she was.  
Margaret looked at her brother and she wanted to wipe the smug look on his face off but she gritted her teeth and muttered an apology. "I'm sorry."  
She wasn't.

"Now go to your room. And we'll talk about your punishment when your father gets back home."

With her breakfast half eaten she forced herself to go back in her room. Only after she was in front of her room did she let her tears fall.  
This was by far the worst day so far.She wished things would go back to normal when she begged her mother to stop making her go outside with the neighbours daughter. Or when her mother made her spend time with Piers Polkis because she was under the impression that he liked her and she liked him. Why would she like boys anyway? She'd rather read her books.

Of course, things would never go back to normal. She realized this when she closed the door behind her, wiping the tears away. 

Her room was fairly big, with a king sized bed, fairy lights above her bed and yellow colored walls. She put a few stickers on the walls, her favourite were the stars stickers above her head that would give a blue light in the night. Her nickname was above her bed with purple stickers. She got that nickname from her brother after she watched one too many times Disney's adaptation of Hercules. Her desk was also pretty big with books that she read in the summer and the daisy flower in full bloom. A present from her aunt a few days ago.

However, there was something that wasn't supposed to be in her room. And that was the 6 feet beautiful lady. She had her blonde hair in an elegant updo, blue eyes twinkling and dark green robes that accentuated her rosy cheeks. However, the horrible scar that was right under her left eye was the most distracting thing. It almost went on her whole face. And yet when the woman saw her, she still gave Margaret an amused smile, like she had an inside joke with herself. "Hello, Margaret Dursley, my name is Elizabeth Ashwood."


	2. Diagon Alley

It was strange.

Usually Maragret liked to go shopping. She didn’t care whether it was for school supplies or clothing or just grocery shopping. It was the one time she got to be alone with her mother, the time when the two of them were bonding while they left the boys at home. This was also the reason why Margaret felt so strange and hurt. Whenever she looks up from her Hogwarts list, she is expecting to see her mother standing next to her and giving her a reassuring smile, but it’s not the case. What hurts the most in this situation is that her parents were given the chance from Elizabeth to come with them and see it for themselves but her father refused it. Loudly. And her mother never went against what her father decided. And she can never expect Dudley, of all people, to be by her side. 

So, that leaves Margaret all by herself in the huge room and her father is still yelling. She can’t hear what he’s saying though. Her ears are ringing and she grabs Elizabeth's hand ( doesn't even realize what she's doing) and wishes that she's not there anymore. And they vanish. 

The two girls appear in an alley and Margaret is glad she didn't have much of a breakfast that morning. She'd be throwing it up after the wave of nausea that caught her.   
"You looked like you needed to get out of there," explained Elizabeth. Margaret could only nod at her. 

Silently, Margaret followed Elizabeth. Before they entered Margaret could see the sign 'Leaky Cauldron' and the girl frowned. Strange name. She ignored it.

Elizabeth talked to a waitress and she led them to a table at the end of the bar where no one could bother them. Of course not before Elizabeth got a Butter Beer for herself and a pumpkin juice for Margaret. As the waitress left Elizabeth made a face "Alastor is going to kill me if he ever finds out I got Butter Beer during a job."  
"I won't tell?"  
Elizabeth smiled at her. Margaret liked when Elizabeth smiled. It reached her eyes in a way that made the blue sparkle and her face had small dimples and Margaret could even ignore the scar there. As they drank their drinks - which Margaret was surprised how good the drink was, after all she never had pumpkin juice before- Elizabeth told her stories. Stories about the Wizarding world, about Hogwarts and what happens after Hogwarts. How she found friends in those seven years of school and made unforgettable memories. Elizabeth told her stories about her favorite classes and how Hogwarts had their students in different classes, no houses. Elizabeth was a Gryffindor. She also told Margaret about the house rivalries but Elizabeth and her friends never really cared about that.   
Margaret listened and she only asked questions when Elizabeth stopped talking and focused on the girl." You've been pretty quiet there. What's on your mind, munchkin?"

"What happens if you don't want to be a part of this world?"  
Elizabeth sighed, her cheerful mood disappeared and looked far too serious for her age. Her scar glinted in the dimly lit bar. "It's dangerous for wizards and witches to not learn how to control their magic."

Elizabeth didn't go into details and Margaret figured it was a hard topic for her. So she asked her about classes, different magic schools and where exactly would she get the money to pay for her school necessities since she was sure her parents wouldn't do it.

" Unfortunately, it's a common thing for the muggleborn families to not be accepting," explained Elizabeth "so the school decided to open a fund at Gringotts if this ever happens. I already took the liberty to open it. The paper work can be a drag. If you want we can start shopping. Books, pets, cauldrons and of course a wand."

Margaret agreed to it and after they finished their drinks they went to Madam Malkins for robes measurements, then the books at Flourish and Blotts and an extra book that catched Margarets eye called Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Elizabeth told Margaret that choosing a wand is the best part. She wanted to believe the older girl but as she entered Ollivanders with Elizabeth behind her, she was met with a strange silence.   
"Mr.Ollivander?" called Elizabeth. The response she got was an elderly man sliding through one of the multiple aisles.

"Ah!" exclaimed the man. He was on the old age, with white hair and a kind face and Margaret thought he could be a kind grandpa someday. "Miss Ashwood, cypress wood, unicorn hair, 12 inches. Don't tell me, you need to change your wand again?" Asked the man amused.  
Elizabeth laughed at the accusation "Not this time,sir. Maybe on the next visit."   
"Let's hope not. That is a good wand you have, Miss Ashwood. What brings you here?"

"This one," answered Elizabeth with a hand on Margarets shoulder. "She is starting Hogwarts this year and it would do good to her to have a wand. I thought this might be the best place."

"After all of the wands, you've changed I'm honoured you think so." The old man said with a laugh in his voice and then turned his attention to Margaret. " Would you mind telling me your name? And the hand you use the most?"

"Uhm, my name is Margaret Dursley, I'm left handed."

"Ah! Let's see…."  
And suddenly Ollivander wasn't interested in the girl anymore, instead he is browsing through the aisles and taking three slick black boxes with him to present to Margaret. Each of them contain a stick in them.

"Well, take one and give it a flick!" urges the man and startled Margaret picks the one in the middle. It feels wrong in her hand.

When she flicks the wand the glass behind Mr. Ollivander breaks. "No, not this one,"mutters the man and Elizabeth repairs the glass with a flick of her own wand silently.

"Go ahead and pick another,dear. "

She picks the one on the left. When she flicks this wand every single paper from the desk explodes in the room. Margaret puts the wand down immediately.   
"How do I know when it' s the right one?How do I choose one?" asks Margaret and Mr.Ollivander chuckles.  
"The wand chooses its wizard, Miss Dursley. Trust me, you'll know when it's the right one. Go ahead and pick the last one. "

And Margaret does as she's told.  
And without wasting a second a warm feeling overtakes her whole body and she feels like she completed a complicated puzzle. The wand in her hand gives a couple of golden tear shaped puffs of smoke and Margaret almost drops the wand but Ollivander only laughs. "Ah! Lets see," says the elderly wizard as he examines the wand " Hazel wood, dragon heartstrings 10 inches. It's a very sensitive type but I trust you'll take care of it." 

Margaret can only nod.

"Thank you,Mr. Ollivander," says Elizabeth as she hands him the money "This was a lot faster than if it was me." 

Mr. Ollivander laughs"I won't have to hear next month that you need to change your wand, will I ,Miss Ashwood?"  
"Only if Alastor doesn't suddenly wish to have me on his team. But I'm sure he learned from the last time. Anyway, good day Mr. Ollivander"  
"To you two too."

Margaret waves and wishes him a good day and thanks him for the assistance, before following Elizabeth. 

They go in silence and Margaret can't help but think about her family. Her father will be furious. Her mother would be disappointed and they'd probably lock her in a room like they did with Harry. She was scared of that. She didn't want to be treated how they treated her for the past week for her whole life. They are her family and she'll miss them. Margaret stops and once Elizabeth realizes that Margaret isn't following her anymore she turns around to see the little girl as white as a ghost. 

"What's wrong?" Asks Elizabeth, her hands on Margarets shoulders and she looks her in the eyes. She's scared.  
Margaret barely whispers the one word but Elizabeth knows what she means "my parents."

Her parents won't approve of this.   
Elizabeth sighs and drops her head."Alright I may have an idea. Follow me."

Margaret does so. The two girls stop at an ice cream shop. Once there Margaret tells Elizabeth all her worries. Her parents don't approve of this. What if they'll lock her up? What if they won't bring her to the platform when the train leaves? What if they take away her textbooks? "And she could have gone with so many more 'what ifs' but Elizabeth stopped her.

They were in the middle of the busy street, some wizards throwing them some dirty looks as they needed to slip between them and the wall. "If your father refuses to drive at the station just send me an owl. I'll apparate faster than you can say quidditch. Sounds good ?" Elizabeth asked the small girl and Margaret nodded. 

Elizabeth got up and kept on explaining " I'll send Athena on the morning of 30th August. By the next day, the answer should be back at the manor and I'll come for you." 

Margaret thanked the older witch realizing that she got panicked for something that could be easily resolved. When she excused herself for this, Elizabeth only laughed and wondered out loud if it meant she was a Ravenclaw. Margaret didn't know. 

Later at night when Margaret was back in her bed, with her new book from Beedle the Bard, she dreamed of castles and magic and fairies and the laughter in her dreams didn't stop until the ray of sunshine hit her face the next morning.


	3. Hogwarts

It surprised Margaret how fast the summer ended and yet for the first time in her life, she couldn’t wait to get away from her family.

Things changed drastically for her after she returned from Diagon Alley. Her relationship with her brother was never the best, they always found things to fight over, but now Dudley just runs in the opposite direction whenever he sees her. Not only that but he made it specifically clear to his friends to ignore her, however she could still see Piers Polkiss stealing glances whenever he thought Margaret or Dudley weren’t looking. Neither of the Dursley siblings said anything to the boy. Not yet at least. However, Margaret could see an outburst in the near future from Dudley.

And Margaret wasn’t surprised by Dudley’s new behaviour,in fact it was expected but she could pretend that she wasn’t hurt by it. Though it was difficult to pretend it didn’t hurt when her mother started to act different towards her as well and well, that’s when things started to hurt. Because her mother still lied to her. 

It was small things but those small things were always the times when they used to spend time together. And now her mother would rather have more work than spend even a few seconds alone with her and that hurt more than Margaret could describe in actual words. A pain in her chest that felt like a harsh slap.

Which brings her to the worst change: Her father.   
Her father, who used to dote on her and surprise her with small presents and being showered with praise and it stopped the moment she got her letter. Now, it was just angry glares and shouts that made her flinch, each one louder than the other. The reason seemed small to Margaret and they were easy to fix but her father didn’t see it that way. If it wasn’t for her mother, Margaret knew that her father would choose to beat the magic out of her. She heard her parents argue over that one time and Margaret was incredibly scared of her father since then.Just like Dudley went out of her way, she went out of her fathers way in fear that he would break his promise to her mother and instead of raising his voice at her, he’ll raise his hand.

When Margaret heard the tapping on her window on the 30th August, she was surprised to see a small, brown owl there but then she remembered Elizabeth’s promise. For a second Margaret almost wished she could ignore the small bird. She had been too scared to start a conversation with her father on normal subjects, let alone on a subject that Margaret knew for sure he hated.

For a moment Margaret considered ignoring the owl. Forget that anything happened at all and just live her normal life with her parents and maybe someday marry someone and be a loving housewife like her mother. A normal life. But then Margaret remembered how Elizabeth talked about Hogwarts: so full of wonder and awe and Margaret wishes to explore this world. This world of magic that she’s sure she could only imagine or read in her books. So, looking at the small bird one last time, Margaret took all the courage she had and went downstairs.

Her father was watching a boxing game with her brother and her mother. Her mother didn’t look very interested in it and chose to knit something meanwhile, her brother wasn't really interested in the game either, while her father had a beer in his hand and was shouting happily at the T.V. 

Margaret took all her courage and addressed her father “Daddy?” Margaret grimaced inwardly. She hadn’t called him like this since she was a little girl but he doesn’t seem to mind as he moved his attention from his match onto her. She could also feel her mothers eyes on her but she ignored that. “Could you please drive me tomorrow to the train station?” She chose to leave out the fact that it was important for school, afraid of how he would react. He gave only a grunt as an answer. Margaret took that as a yes.   
With a shaky breath Margaret thanked him, only to be ignored and she knew she was dismissed. Once in her room, she blinked away her tears and sat at her desk to write Elizabeth her response.

On September first her brother woke her up by kicking her door and she had a poor breakfast made of a sandwich with Salami and salad that Margaret had a dislike for it ever since she was small. She choose to ignore it and thanked her mother for the food and then she and her father prepared to leave. She had already packed everything from last night so now she just waited for her father in the car. They left at exactly 9.30, not without Margaret seeing how her father lovingly kissed her mother goodbye and ruffled Dudley’s hair. Her heart ached when Margaret realized that she’ll probably never have moments like that with her family again. When her mother saw how Margaret observed them, she looked as if a neighbour caught her spying on them. Margaret looked away.

Her father entered the car, angrily shutting the door and they made it on the road. The atmosphere was tense and awkward and Margaret was itching for some music to fill the silence, instead she tried to count the trees she saw or she was tapping her fingers on her knees. Anything to keep her occupied and not attempt to strike a conversation with her father. 

Once at King Cross her father dropped her Hogwarts trunk at her feet and returned home. Margaret wanted to believe that she heard him saying ‘have a good semester’ or she might have imagined but she is starting to get used to her family coldness. After all the crying she did in the summer, she probably hadn’t any tears left.

She took out her ticket and on the brown paper saw Platform 9 ¾ and frowned. This couldn't be right. It’s true that she and her family prefer to use their car to travel somewhere but she knew enough about trains to know that that platform didn’t exist. She thought a little about asking someone but then she rehearsed it in her mind and there was no way, they wouldn’t think she was crazy.

So lost in her thought that Margaret didn't see where she was going and she bumped into someone. Well, rather into his chest, he was taller than her - maybe even taller than Harry.  
“I’m so sorry!” she apologized quickly embarrassed but the guy smiled. It was a nice smile, he had dimples. Tanned skin and dark eyes and he was wearing a gold and red muffler around his neck. He eyed her trunk and his face lit up in recognition. “Oh! You’re going to Hogwarts, first year?”   
“Uhm, yeah, but I have no idea how,” Margaret attempted to speak but the boy seemed to understand her. Maybe it helped that Margaret showed him the train ticket or maybe he was just a mind reader, who knows if those exist.

“Don’t worry about that. All you have to do is go through the wall between platform 9 and 10 - what you don’t believe me?” the boy challenged, most likely seeing her skeptical expression that she had.   
“Would you believe a stranger that tells you to walk into a wall?”  
“What about a cute stranger?”

She raised her eyebrow and the boy gave a dramatic sigh “Fine, what if I go with you?” he asked as he held out his hand and a smile on his face. Margaret didn’t believe that he’d go into a wall just for the sake of a cruel joke, so she took his hand shyly. With his other hand he took control of the trunk and with an encouraging nod he guided her towards the wall. 

Margaret honestly expected to go stumbling and for the boy to start laughing at her for being so gullible but instead just like magic she went through the wall. Even though the boy told her what would happen it still surprised Margaret. 

The cacophony of sounds on the platform was confusing for a while but Margaret ignored them as she watched the red locomotive waiting patiently on the tracks. It was truly impressive. The boy helped her find an empty compartiment and with her trunk too and then he left to find his own friends and say goodbye to his family. Margaret sat down and waited for the train to move. Just as she wanted to look out the window, the boy popped his head in her compartiment one last time. “I just remembered, I didn’t catch your name.”   
“Margaret.”  
He smiled at her, “Lee Jordan, hope I’ll see you in Gryffindor.” 

And with that he left her alone.She didn’t know if she should be glad that she is alone or sad because she is alone. She had a feeling that she’ll need to get used to being alone.

“Excuse me, would you mind if we share? Everything else is full.”  
There were two girls in the door where Lee had just been, waiting for her response. One of them was pretty tall, definitely taller than her, with red hair and freckles and clothes that seemed too big for her as if they were hand-me-downs but Margaret didn’t comment on that. The girl seemed nice enough.

The other girl was a complete opposite though. She had dark hair that reached her shoulders and pale skin free of freckles. Margaret could see the thin golden necklace that the girl was wearing and she wondered how these two are friends. They seemed like complete opposites.

“I’m Ginny Weasley and this is Agatha.”  
“Margaret Dursley.”  
“You start your first year too, right?” asked Ginny, keeping up the conversation. Margaret nodded.  
“Us too, I really hope to end up in Gryffindor, I don't think my brothers would let me live it down if I end up in Slytherin.”  
“I’ll make sure to not let Fred and George put dying colour when showering.”

Ginny squinted her eyes at her friend and Margaret felt like there was an inside joke there and for a little bit she felt like an outsider because these two girls obviously knew each other from before.  
“Something from the trolley, dears?” an eldery woman came at the door with a trolley full with sweets that Margaret has never seen.   
Ginny glanced at the chocolate only to look away and Agatha seeing that took out her pouch and asked for chocolate frogs.   
“Chocolate frogs? Are they real frogs?”  
Ginny shook her head with a smile ”No, they are bewitched. But anyway it’s the cards that you want. Ron needs a certain witch that Agatha has like ten but she refuses to give it to him.”  
“Well, he shouldn’t have snitched,” Agatha pouted “Here, try one,” and she handed Margaret a chocolate. Margaret thanked her and put the chocolate in her mouth and she was surprised by the taste.It was definitely chocolate but somehow it was richer, softer and much sweeter and at the same time it melted in her mouth. She liked it. Even better than what she had until now. She liked it.

“Who did you get?”Ginny asked curiously.  
Margaret observed the wizard with a brown splash on his shirt, white haired and old but pleased with himself “Albert Grunnion,” read Margaret ”Inventor of Dungbomb?”  
“Ah, dungbombs,” said Agatha with a faked wistfulness and Ginny snorted at her theatrics “Every pranksters tool.”  
“My brothers put one under our aunts seat at Christmas dinner. Let’s just say we shouldn’t expect any other visits from her.”  
“Not that it’s such a tragedy, really.”

“Are dungbombs really bad?”  
“You’ve never had a dungbomb explode in your face before?” asked Agatha incredulously.  
“This is the first I hear the name,” explained Margaret   
“Well, then I believe we have a quest, wouldn’t you say so, dearest Ginerva?”  
“Call me Ginerva again and you’ll be made the example,” stated Ginny simply.  
“Maggie, the mean red-head is threatening me!” 

The three girls burst out laughing at Agatha’s immaturity and the whole train ride was spent making jokes, eating sweets and the delicious sandwiches that Ginny’s mother made. Margaret learned that Agatha is actually Elizabeth Ashwood's little sister and Ginny has 6 older brothers and in return Margaret has told them about her own brother. 

Margaret jumped when a voice came out of nowhere and announced they will arrive at Hogwarts in a short time. Not only the voice but the red headed perfect, dressed in his black robe and a badge with a P sat proudly next to a badge with a lion on his chest, advising them to get dressed in their own robes. Ginny explained with a roll of her eyes that that boy was one of her older brothers as the three girls listened to him and got dressed in their own robes. 

It was already dark when they arrived and Margaret wondered if they’ll have to go by themselves to Hogwarts but as the familiar giant gathered all the children in the first year Margaret was surprised when he guided them to a lake.  
“Four in a boat! Four in a boat! You don’t want to end up in the lake, trust me!”

The three girls hurried in a boat with a boy so energetic that if it wasn't for Agatha that scared him into silence, Margaret was scared they'd fall into the lake. 

If she was being honest, Margaret did not feel comfortable on the boat, being in the dark surrounded by an unknown lake, it reminded her too much of the boat ride with her family - she ended up in the lake that day. Dudley pushed her in. But this ride didn’t end like her last ride, thanks to Agatha and as she saw the huge castle that seemed right from a fairy tale book, Margaret was glad she decided to accept Elizabeth's invitation.

The students oohed at the magnificent castle and the small group exchanged glances in anticipation. Far too soon, the boat stopped at the shore and Hagrid guided them through a dark alley. Margaret was careful to not catch her foot on branches on the ground or get behind the group. 

When they entered the castle, it was just as impressive as it was from the outside but they didn’t have enough time to inspect the halls and the big ceilings that seemed with no end. Hagrid led them to a pair of stairs just as impressive as the ceilings and there waited a witch for them.

The witch was old with white hair in an organized bun, green robes and glasses on her nose She didn’t seem like the kind of teacher you’d want to cross. With a sharp clear of her throat it brought every student to her attention.  
“Welcome to Hogwarts," said the teacher . "My name is Minerva McGonnagal. Headmistress and head of house Gryffindor. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.  
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”

As the teacher guided them in the hall with the other students, Margaret fell in line with the boy that shared the boat with them. The boy smiled at her nervously and Margaret returned the smile just as nervous. Agatha and Ginny were whispering among themselves furiously but Margaret managed to ignore them. 

The hall they entered was beautiful and large, with four long tables where the students sat and Margaret could see Lee Jordan laughing between a pair of twins. When he caught her looking at him, he waved with a cheeky smile. Margaret blushed and looked away from the grinning boy and looked at the ceiling. She was surprised however, when instead of looking at old concrete, she saw the stars twinkle in the sky. Just like magic.

They came to a halt in front of the teachers and Margaret could feel the curious gazes of both teachers and students. A four-legged stool waited with a pointed wizard's hat on top of it and Margaret thought that her mother would have probably burned the poor hat by now. It looked old enough and Margaret silently wondered how the hat was still in one piece.

For a second it was complete silence as they were waiting for something, then the hat twitched and a rip near the brim opened and it started to sing:

You might think of me as ugly  
I can tell, you are judging wrongly  
For I may be a hat  
But I’ll tell you where you at  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Everyone clapped as the hat stopped singing and the teacher read the first name from a piece of parchment. The first student, Anson Dorian was sorted into Ravenclaw, followed by a very nervous Ashwood Agatha, who was sorted into Hufflepuff. The red-headed twins booed loudly but stopped abruptly once Professor McGonnagal threw them a stern gaze. Ginny tried desperately to hide her face in her hands, groaning softly behind her. 

The sorting followed with Baroni Bianca into Slytherin and Colin Creevey was sorted into Gryffindor. Then the teacher called her name and her breathing suddenly stopped. Her palms were sweating and it seemed like the gazes were intensified. Slowly she sat on the stool and Professor McGonnagal put the hat on her head.  
“I see,” said a foreign voice in her head and Margaret jumped. “It’s okay dear, I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s see, your bravery and courage are indeed admirable and your big thirst for knowledge might make you a good Ravenclaw. But the decision is fairly obvious. You’ll do well in GRYFFINDOR”

Just like with Colin, the table erupted into loud applause and cheers and as she sat next to Colin Creevey, people were welcoming her with friendly smiles and sweaty hand shakes. From across the table Lee Jordan gave her a smile and two thumbs up.

The sorting continued with Moira Green, who was sorted into Slytherin and both Kimiko Ikeda and Luna Lovegood were both sorted into Ravenclaw, the twins Benjamin and Nicholas Murray were sorted into Hufflepuff. The boy who shared the boat with the girls,Nahaniel O’Connell took much more time than the others almost more than ten minutes but finally the hat called hufflepuff. Margaret heard someone silently whisper the word hatstall and she made herself a mind note to ask what that is after the sorting.

Juno Robertson and William Warrington were sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively and an eerie silence settled in the hall when Professor McGonnagal called Ginny’s name. And yet the moment the hat shouted Gryffindor the red-headed twins were the first to erupt into cheers. Ginny sat next to her and laughed as the people shook her hand and congratulated her and Margaret, herself was very happy to have a friend by her side.  
The sorting ended with Willard Josephine, who took her place next to Ginny once the hat shouted Gryffindor.


End file.
